Vigil, Albert and Josephine

Both Albert and Josephine Vigil were born in 1927. But Josephine was born Josephine Cordova. He was from San Ildefonso Pueblo, she was from Taos Pueblo. Contrary to pueblo tradition, when they married she moved to his home at San Ildefonso.

Albert was the son of Juanita Vigil, one of Maria Martinez‘ sisters. Maria and her sister Clara taught Albert and Josephine how to make pottery. But Maria encouraged them to make polychrome pottery, not the black-on-black pottery that she was famous for.

Albert and Josephine excelled at it, so much so that they earned multiple Blue Ribbons over a quarter century of participation in Santa Fe Indian Market. They started in 1976 and earned a Second Place ribbon for a red bowl. The next year they earned a Best of Division ribbon for a painted red-on-buff pot. That began a long string of ribbons earned at both Santa Fe and the Eight Northern Pueblos Arts & Crafts Show.

Josephine usually made the pots and Albert painted them. His father was Tse-Yu-Mu (Romando Vigil) of the San Ildefonso School of watercolor artists.

Josephine passed on in 2001, Albert in 2009.

Some of Albert’s earliest paintings were included in the Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories exhibit at the Heard Museum in the Spring of 2019.